Fulani War - Battles

Battles

There were several minor skirmishes between forces until the forces met at the Battle of Tsuntua. Although Yunfa was victorious and dan Fodio lost a number of men, the battle did not diminish his force and he quickly responded by capturing the village of Matankari which resulted in a major battle between the forces of Yunfa and those of dan Fodio: the battle of Tafkin Kwatto. Although outnumbered, dan Fodio's troops were able to prevent Yunfa from advancing on Gunu and thus convince larger numbers of people to join his forces.

In 1805, the forces of dan Fodio, the jihadists, captured the Hausa kingdom of Kebbi. By 1807, the states of Katsina, Daura, and the important kingdom of Kano had all been taken over by the jihadists. In 1808, the jihadists were able to capture Gobir and Yunfa was slain in the battle.

The capture of Gobir was significant in refocusing the effort of the war from one limited to a wider regional struggle. Other battles continued against a number of Hausa kingdoms and the Sokoto Caliphate expanded over the next two years. The last major expansion of the jihadists was the toppling of the Sayfawa dynasty in 1846.